Embodiments of the present invention relate to reducing the written-in run-out in servo data written to a storage medium and, more particularly, to the selection of servo controllers for writing servo data.
Hard disk drives are used in almost all computer system operations, and recently even in consumer electronic devices such as digital cameras, video recorders, and audio (MP3) players. A hard disk drive typically includes a plurality of storage disks or hard disks vertically aligned about a central core that can spin at a wide range of standard rotational speeds depending on the computing application in which the hard disk drive is being used. Commonly, the central core is comprised, in part, of a spindle motor for providing rotation of the hard disks at a defined rotational speed. A plurality of magnetic read/write transducer heads, commonly one read/write transducer head per surface of a disk where a head reads data from and writes data to a surface of a disk, are mounted on actuator arms.
A storage disk is coated on one or both of its primary surfaces with a magnetic material that is capable of changing its magnetic orientation in response to an applied magnetic field. During operation of a disk drive, the disk is rotated about a central axis at a constant rate. To read data from or write data to the disk, a magnetic transducer (or head) is positioned above (or below) a desired track of the disk while the disk is spinning.
Writing is performed by delivering a polarity-switching write current signal to the transducer while the transducer is positioned above (or below) the desired track. The write signal creates a variable magnetic field at a gap portion of the transducer that induces magnetically polarized transitions into the desired track. The magnetically polarized transitions are representative of the data being stored.
Reading is performed by sensing the magnetically polarized transitions on a track with the transducer. As the disk spins below (or above) the transducer, the magnetically polarized transitions on the track induce a varying magnetic field into the transducer. The transducer converts the varying magnetic field into a read signal that is delivered to a preamplifier and then to a read channel for appropriate processing. The read channel converts the read signal into a digital signal that is processed and then provided by a controller to a host computer system.
When data is to be written to or read from the disk, the transducer must be moved radially relative to the disk. In a seek mode, the transducer is moved radially inwardly or outwardly to arrange the transducer above a desired track. In an on-track mode, the transducer reads data from or writes data to the desired track. The tracks are typically not completely circular. Accordingly, in the on-track mode the transducer must be moved radially inwardly and outwardly to ensure that the transducer is in a proper position relative to the desired track. The movement of the transducer in on-track mode is referred to as track following.
The above described movement of the transducer is controlled by a servo control system. The servo control system generally performs two distinct functions: seek control and track following. The seek control function includes controllably moving the transducer from an initial position to a target track position. In general, the seek function is initiated when a host computer associated with the computer disk drive issues a command to read data from or write data to a target track on the disk. Once the transducer has been moved sufficiently close to the target track by the seek function of the control system, the track following function of the servo control system is activated to center and maintain the transducer on the target track until the desired data transfers are completed.
The servo system includes a plurality of servo sectors on the disks to enable the head to access, or to seek, a particular track. The servo system also enables the head to remain on the track, or to track-follow. Servo performance can degrade if the servo tracks written to the disk are non-circular, a phenomenon known as written-in runout. Each track is divided into a number of data sectors and servo sectors. The data sectors are used to contain user data and the servo sectors contain the information for properly locating the read/write head.
Ideally, a head following the center of a track moves along a perfectly circular path around the disc. However, two types of errors prevent heads from following this ideal path. The first type of error is a written-in error that arises during the creation of the servo fields. Written-in errors occur because the write head used to produce the servo fields does not always follow a perfectly circular path due to unpredictable pressure effects on the write head from the aerodynamics of its flight over the disc, and from vibrations in the gimbal used to support the head. Because of these written-in errors, a head that perfectly tracks the path followed by the servo write head will not follow a circular path.
The second type of error that prevents circular paths is known as track following error. Track following errors arise as a head attempts to follow the path defined by the servo fields. The track following errors can be caused by the same aerodynamic and vibrational effects that create written-in errors. In addition, track following errors can arise because the servo system is unable to respond fast enough to high-frequency changes in the path defined by the servo fields.
Written-in errors are often referred to as repeatable run-out errors because they cause the same errors each time the head passes along a track. As track densities increase, these repeatable run-out errors begin to limit the track pitch. Specifically, variations between the ideal track path and the actual track path created by the servo fields can result in a track interfering with or squeezing an adjacent track. This is especially acute when a first written-in error causes a head to be outside of an ideal circular path of an inner track and a second written-in error causes the head to be inside of an ideal circular path of an outer track. To avoid limitations on the track pitch, systems that compensate for repeatable run-out errors are employed.
One existing technique for repeatable run-out error compensation involves obtaining a sequence of repeatable run-out values, computing compensation values based on the repeatable run-out values, and storing the compensation values in compensation tables. These compensation values are then injected into the servo loop to compensate for repeatable run-out errors. In this technique, the sequence of repeatable run-out errors is obtained by repeatedly following tracks on the discs over a number of revolutions and averaging the position error signals obtained at each servo field over all of the revolutions. This averaging process is time consuming and complex.
Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art. Additionally, the techniques presented here are suitable for use in a self-servo-writing process which is a post assembly process. Traditional pre-assembly techniques are costly and time consuming as they would normally require: i) to be done in a clean room environment, and ii) the use of laser interferometry to precisely position the transducer heads as the servo data is written.